Cooking Method

Making the tomato essence

In a food processor, blitz all the ingredients together 3 times for 2 seconds each, using the pulse button (*3). Allow to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 3 hours. Hang in a double folded muslin cloth to collect the liquid, reserve.

Cooking the risotto

Bring the water to the boil. Soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil on a low heat until soft (approximately 2 minutes) Stir in the rice and continue to cook on medium heat for 2 minutes until the grains of rice appear translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add the hot water; stir until it has all been absorbed simmering (bubbles breaking the surface). Follow this with the essence and continue cooking the rice as before. The rice will take 20 – 25 minutes to cook to perfection (*4). After 20 minutes add all the vegetables, cook for a further 5 minutes stirring continually; add the parmesan, mascarpone, tomatoes and herbs. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve.Over cooking the risotto only takes 1–2 minutes, so taste at all stages of cooking and remember practice makes perfect.

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Raymond's Notes

*1 To make a great tomato essence, you need to source the very best tomatoes. We use cherry tomatoes because they are sweeter. An un-ripe tomato or poor variety will give you a poor quality of essence.

*2 We have chosen Carnaroli rice as we believe it is the best. It gives the best flavour and texture. It is cultivated mainly in the Piemonte region of Italy.

*3 Over blitzing the tomatoes to a purée will break down the tomato skin and give a completely different, coarser flavour. The colour will also be red, whilst we are looking for a pale gold colour, which is the heart of the tomato.

*4 Risotto is a simple dish but a complicated process. The stirring of the risotto will bring out the natural starch, give it a creamy consistency and also distribute the heat to give an even cooking of the rice.

VARIATIONS

1. The training given at Le Manoir teaches us to utilise everything, so the pulp can be used to make a soup or sauce for pasta or chicken etc. The remaining tomato pulp could also be used to add into the risotto in place of the extra vegetables.

2. The different risottos are endless; shellfish, asparagus, mushroom, pumpkin are just a few.